Slope Transects With the Snow Scope Probe
Measuring Spatial variability of the snowpack was one of the main drivers of the development of the Scope. While it is a great tool applicable to documenting variability over multiple slopes, aspects, drainages, or elevations, it can also be used on a smaller scale to document variability within a single slope.
Approximate locations of 13 profiles along a ~75m transect.
Cooke City, MT
This image shows approximate probed locations along a ~75m transect of a slope in Cooke City, MT. The profiles were collected while skinning along, probing at ~ 6m intervals. Collecting all 13 of the profiles added only a few minutes to the ascent.
All 13 profiles are plotted below next to each other, with a hardness heatmap representation of each shown to see how the layers change across the 3D transect.
There are some obvious differences between profiles, and some layers that are remarkably similar. For example, there is a structure of two relatively hard layers sandwiching a softer layer that is remarkably consistent across the first 9 profiles in the transect (highlighted in the white box). On the other hand, there are sometimes harder or weaker layers in some of the profiles that are not present in other profiles. One theory is that these are ski tracks as this was a moderately tracked slope.
This is only one example of documenting spatial variability within a slope, and there is still much to be learned here. With the Scope, possibilities include mapping spatial resolution at an even finer scale, mapping a grid of a slope instead of just a transect, or even repeating a transect throughout a season to see how a slope changes over time.
We have also started prototyping a method to plot these slope transects on your phone in real time! stay tuned for more info on that.
